Gone
by TeamChaosPrez
Summary: The story of just after Steven's birth and Rose's death. {My first Steven Universe so I apologize for any OOCness}


_This was a request on Tumblr. I've never written any Steven Universe before, so please forgive any OOCness or inconsistencies – I have only been in the fandom since Tuesday and I've only watched up to "Rose's Room."_

She was gone.

Greg Universe stared uncomprehendingly at the empty spot on the bed where his beloved wife had been mere moments before. He then glanced at his hand, which had been squeezed by the lovely Rose Quartz's during the painful process of giving birth to their child.

Garnet, who had been assisting, looked equally confused, her normally emotionless face set in a frown as she held the newborn boy. The child wailed, but both the Gem and the human were too distracted and stunned to pay any attention to the crying baby.

"Did... did something go wrong? She just needs to regain strength and she'll be fine soon, right?" Greg asked, ruffling around in the blankets to find the quartz that was his dear Rose, only to find nothing.

"No." Garnet responded. "Everything looked fine. By human standards, she was doing very well."

"Then... where is she?" There was not a stray gem to be seen, near or on the bed. Greg's confusion was starting to melt into panic as the big man hysterically tore the blankets and sheets off the bed looking for the quartz that would hold his Rose.

Garnet was hiding as much emotion as possible, bouncing the child up and down in an effort to quiet his cries. She was not good with children, no matter how hard she tried.

Then she thought of something.

The boy had been rather weak when he first came out before Rose vanished. Pale, no noise, barely breathing. Had she actually -

Garnet was cut off by a sudden shine beneath the blankets the baby was swaddled in. She went silent, parting the blankets a bit to see a rose quartz in the boy's belly button. She actually had to swallow down tears for the first time in her life.

"Greg. She gave herself up to save the baby."

The man immediately stopped, looking at Garnet with tears in his eyes. "Wh-what do you mean?" He asked.

"Look." The leader Gem parted the blankets again to show Greg the quartz. "He wasn't doing very well until she disappeared. He would not have been able to survive without the gem. Rose gave up her physical form to bring him into the world."

She swaddled the baby back up and handed him to his father, who looked like he might break down any moment. As soon as Greg cradled his son to his chest, however, he seemed to calm a little just by looking in his eyes.

"Steven. Steven Quartz Universe." Greg muttered, cradling the newborn close.

Garnet allowed father and son to have a moment before declaring, "We're going to have to break the news to the other Gems."

The color vanished from Greg's face.

"They will not harm you." The tallest Gem said in what she intended to be a soothing voice when she noticed Greg's nervousness... not nervousness, borderline terror.

"Right..."

"If you are so afraid of telling them, bring Steven along. They would never harm an innocent child. Especially not Rose's child."

The man nodded, holding Steven protectively and following the tall Gem out of the bedroom, where Pearl and Amethyst were sitting anxiously on a couch.

Amethyst was the first to pop up, the purple Gem zooming over to have a good look at the baby. "Wow, he's adorable!" She declared. "He's gonna be my little buddy. We're gonna have so much fun when he's bigger!"

Pearl, on the other hand, successfully noticed the look in Greg's eyes and was less concerned about the child, worry evident in her voice as she asked, "Where's Rose?"

Greg gulped and announced, "She's gone. She gave herself up to bring Steven into the world."

Silence. Sharp silence. Tension one could cut through with a knife. Amethyst automatically backed away from the newborn, a look of horror on her face.

"It was not the baby's fault." Garnet said when she noticed the look of revulsion on her fellow Gems' faces. "He did not mean Rose any harm. He was very weak, and we all know that Rose's compassion is... was... strong."

The newborn Steven cooed, reaching up and touching his despairing father's face. Greg responded by cuddling the baby close.

More silence. Pearl was the first to speak, her voice shaking. "If Rose wanted the baby alive so desperately, we-we will have to teach him the way of the Gems..."

Greg immediately hugged Steven closer. The baby was all he had now. He didn't want Pearl to be taking him away.

Garnet noticed this and spoke next. "We will let him stay with Greg until he is ready. And when that time comes he will still be allowed to visit as much as he likes."

A sigh of relief and more silence.

"Rose was too good for this world." Amethyst suddenly announced in a voice uncharacteristically close to tears.

"She saw the beauty in everything." Pearl agreed.

"We need to teach Steven about how wonderful she was."Greg sighed, looking down at the baby.

"But we cannot make it so he hates himself." Garnet protested.

"Just to make sure he knows about the beautiful Gem that brought him into being."

A collective nod in agreement.

"Welcome to the world Steven Quartz Universe, and good luck."


End file.
